Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Banners Head Off Into the Cosmos

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 director James Gunn has released four more banners for the sequel, further highlighting the core Guardians team in the process. The film hits theaters next month and Marvel Studios is continuing its flashy campaign of psychedelic promotional posters and effects-heavy trailers. The first Guardians was a seemingly tricky product to sell, being a lesser-known Marvel property and featuring an eclectic band of misfits (rather than the usual big-name superheroes). That movie’s unexpected success and critical acclaim means the studio can capitalize on all that fans loved about the first film with the sequel, especially the humor and vintage ’60s/’70s tunes.

Now set to Awesome Mix Tape Vol. 2, the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel is also amping up the action, which was already pretty intense in their first outing. As a recentGuardians 2 TV spot shows, our gang of heroes led by Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), has two sets of enemies who want them dead, and they’re going to need more allies and a whole lot of firepower to win these battles.

Those four new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 banners (revealed by Gunn via his Twitter account) are featured in the gallery below and they spotlight the core cast of Quill, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) with Baby Groot (Vin Diesel). All the characters are brandishing their favored weapons, set against a vividly-colored cosmic background that features some of the ships we’ll see in the upcoming sequel.

These new banners stick with the vintage and often neon vibe of the previous Guardians 2 posters, and aside from Gamora’s more languid, confident pose, focus on the exhilarating action the new movie promises. Despite the new team members joining the fight this time around, these images keep the focus on the five central heroes from the original story, and Gunn has assured fans that each one has a detailed character arc, this time around.

While a large portion of the story will likely surround Peter seeking out his mysterious father, Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell), it’s good to know that the sequel remains a strong ensemble piece. However spectacular the action and effects are in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, fans will also be heading to the theater to see the humorous and even heart-warming ways this crew of intergalactic a-holes fights to stay together.